Rescue is only the first step...

Did you know that National Mill Dog Rescue has a volunteer rehabilitation team? The team currently consists of approximately a dozen volunteers working with the same number of dogs.

Grace, the French Bulldog, receives attention from NMDR's rehab team to overcome her fears.

NMDR's rehab team formed about 2 years ago.  A focused program was needed to devote special attention to dogs exhibiting severe behavioral problems.  Since puppy mill survivors spend the entirety of their lives in fear of people and without human contact, many arrive scared and traumatized. 

Molly and Grace - outside with the rehab team

Jill Haffley, an experienced dog trainer and animal behaviorist agreed to head the program and assist volunteers with specialized treatment plans and establish program goals for each dog.  Each volunteer is required to read information about rehabilitation techniques and also meet with Jill or an experienced volunteer. The volunteers observe then implement the program with a dog who has been placed in the rehab program. 

Dogs are assigned to rehab if they are fear biters, dog aggressive, difficult to pick up, and/or cower and shake when they see a human.  The selected dogs receive 2 to 3 sessions per week.

Grace is so afraid of people that she crawls on her belly when a person is near.

The rehab team's goals with a dog can include:  establishing trust, easy pick up, no biting or aggression to humans, social with other dogs and humans.  The ultimate goal is to have the rescued dog be ready for adoption.

So far, dozens of dogs have graduated from the program to go on to find their forever homes.

Volunteers are always needed for the rehab team and many other areas of NMDR:
http://milldogrescue.org/Volunteer.html